International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252

Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

EVALUATION OF EFFLUENT QUALITY OF A SUGAR INDUSTRY BY USING

PHYSICO- CHEMICAL PARAMETERS
D. Shiva Kumar*
S. Srikantaswamy*

Abstract: Water is an essential part of all living organisms. In this connection water plays a
most valuable and important role in the natural cycle. Among the whole water availability,
only 3% fresh water is available on the earth. In the available fresh water sources, entries of
pollutants have been significantly increased from industries and domestic/anthropogenic
activities. In this scenario the conservation strategies plays an important role in the
conservation of fresh water bodies as well as water quality. Huge quantity of fresh water will
be consumed for the production process which will be held in the industry. In the mean while
the amount of consumption of fresh water is equal to the amount of discharge of
wastewater as effluent. In this aspect the present study pointed out the pollutants
concentration in the sugar industry effluent. Once determine the concentration of pollutants
in the effluents, the wastewater treatment system can also be modified as per the modern
technology to remove the maximum concentration of pollutants in the wastewater. As per
the CPCB direction every industry should adopt the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) in their
industry premises to avoid discharge of effluent without treatment. In the present study the
influent and effluents was analysed of a sugar industry and revealed that the pollutant
concentration was comparatively high and by adopting the Biological treatment process
with Activated Sludge Process (SAP) the treatment efficiency looks better treatment for the
wastewater released by sugar industry. The analysed parameters of the treated effluent are
well within the prescribed by the CPCB for the discharge of effluent to on-land standards and
discharged wastewater could be used for the agriculture purposes or any domestic purposes
in the industry.
Key words: Fresh water, Effluent, ZLD, ASP, Sugar industry.

*Department of Studies in Environmental Science, University of Mysore, Manasagangothri,

Mysuru, Karnataka, India
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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

INTRODUCTION
In the recent era great concern has been given throughout the universe regarding the
environmental pollution from so many aspects since of rapid industrialization and
subsequent urbanization (] RA Sail et al., 2006). But as for the earlier concept of disposal of
treated/untreated wastewater from the industry, treated/untreated wastewater has been
drained into the rivers, nearby lakes or streams and by that river body it may spreading over
a huge area till that water reaches its final destination (SK Chatterjee et al., 2010; NK
Chaurasia et al., 2011). Therefore, the polluted water directly or indirectly affects the lives
of flora and fauna which are situated nearby the water sources not only in the industrial
area but also in agricultural fields, river and river beds (K Nath et al., 2005). In some of the
industries the wastewater may have high level of nutrients, heavy metals and hazardous
substances which may help to the microorganisms during the biological treatment of the
wastewater (P Malaviya et al., 2007). However, effluents containing various types of
metallic and non-metallic elements act as nutrients but at the higher concentration they
may show toxic nature on seed germination and seedling growth, ultimately adversely
affecting plant growth and yield in agricultural field (YM Avasn et al., 2000).
In countries like Cuba, Jamaica and India the sugar is mainly produced by sugarcane whereas
in many countries they will use the beetroots as the raw material instead of sugarcane.
There are two categories of sugar manufacturing process viz (i) Carbonation process. (ii)
Sulphitation process. But most of the sugar industries in India adopted double sulphitation
process for the production of white sugar. The present study sugar industries have following
operations:
(i) Milling (ii) Clarification (iii) Evaporation (iv) Crystallization (v) Centrifugation
During the production of sugarcane huge amount of water will be discharged as wastewater
to the surrounding with partially or without treatment even the industry has proper
treatment plant. The discharged wastewater may release onto surface nearby the industry
or water sources such as river or streams. Once the wastewater mixed with water course
within in few days it liberates the bad odour and this is common phenomenon.
Sugar industries have an important place in the Indian economic development. However,
the wastewater generated from these industries bear a high degree of pollution load. Sugar
industries in India generate about 1,000 L of wastewater for one ton of sugar cane crushed.

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

Wastewater from sugar industry, if discharged without treatment, poses pollution problems
in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In this review, the sugar industry wastewater
generation sources, characteristics, recent advancements in the aerobic, anaerobic, and
physico-chemical treatment technologies, and the areas needing further research have been
explored. Most of the research work for sugar industry wastewater treatments has been
carried out by anaerobic treatment processes. However, oil and grease are not easily
degraded by anaerobic processes. Also, an anaerobic process partly degrades nutrients
whereas, aerobic processes consume higher energy. Anaerobic-aerobic combined systems
can remove organics completely. Unfortunately, very few studies are available for
anaerobic-aerobic combined systems, and more work is needed in this field.
SOURCES OF EFFLUENTS
The wastewater generated from different process in the industry can be classified as
follows:
(1) Mill House: The effluent consists of water used from cleaning the mill house which is
likely to be converted by spills and pleased sugar juice. Water used for cooling of mills also
forms part of the waste water from this source. Basically this water contains organic matter
like sucrose, bagacillo, oil and grease from the bearings fitted in to the mills.
(2) Wastewater from Boiling House: The waste water from boiling house results from
leakages through pumps, pipelines and the washings of various sections such as
evaporators, juice heaters, clarification, and pans.
(3) Wastewater from Boiler Blow-down: The water used in boiler contains suspended solids
dissolved solids like calcium salts, magnesium salts, sodium salts, fatty salts etc.
(4) Condensate water: The excess condensate does not normally contain any pollutant and
is used as boiler feed water and the washing operations. Sometimes it gets contaminated
with juice due to entertainment of carryover of solids with the vapours being condensed in
that case if goes in to the waste water drain.
(5) Condenser cooling water: Condenser cooling water is re-circulated again unless it gets
contaminated with juice, which is possible due to defective entrainment separators, faulty
operation beyond the design rate of evaporation etc. if gets contaminated the water should
go into the drain invisibly. This volume of water is also increased by additional condensing of
vapour of trained from the boiling juice the pan.

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

(6) Soda and Acid Wastes: The heat exchangers and evaporator are cleaned with caustic
soda and hydrochloric acid in order to remove the formation of the deposits of scales on the
surface of the tubing. In India, most of the sugar factories let this valuable chemical go into
drains. The soda and acid wash contribute considerable amounts of organic and inorganic
pollutions and may cause shock loads to waste water treatment.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNIQUE
Primary treatment: Primary treatment is usually the first stage of wastewater treatment.
Many advanced wastewater treatment plants in industrialized countries have started with
primary treatment, and have then added other treatment stages as wastewater load has
grown, as the need for treatment has increased, and as resources have become available. It
is designed to remove gross, suspended and floating solids, oil and grease from raw
wastewater. It includes screening of solid material and sedimentation by gravity to remove
suspended solids. This level is sometimes referred to as mechanical treatment, although
chemicals are often used to accelerate the sedimentation process. Primary treatment can
reduce the BOD of the incoming wastewater by 20-30% and the total suspended solids by
some 50-60%.
Secondary treatment: In this process it removes the dissolved organic matter that escapes
from primary treatment. This can be achieved by using microbes, consuming the organic
matter as food, and converting it to carbon dioxide, water, and energy for their own growth
and its reproduction. The biological process is then followed by additional settling tanks to
remove more of the suspended solids. About 85% of the suspended solids and BOD can be
removed by a well running plant with secondary treatment. Secondary treatment
technologies include the basic Activated Sludge Process (ASP).
Tertiary treatment: The tertiary treatment can remove more than 99 percent of all the
impurities from sewage, producing an effluent of almost drinking water quality. Disinfection,
typically with chlorine, can be the final step before discharge of the effluent. However, some
environmental authorities are concerned that chlorine residuals in the effluent can be a
problem in their own right, and have moved away from this process. Disinfection is
frequently built into treatment plant design, but not effectively practiced, because of the
high cost of chlorine, or the reduced effectiveness of ultraviolet radiation where the water is
not sufficiently clear or free of particles.

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

Sludge treatment
The purpose of sludge treatment is to destroy the pathogens contained in the sludge and to
reduce its objectionable characteristics prior to ultimate disposal. The most common
treatment methods are aerobic and anaerobic biological processes.
Aerobic digestion consists of continuously pumping compressed air into a tank containing
the waste sludge, allowing the microorganisms present in the waste to further stabilize or
treat it. This is typically done for a period of 15 to 30 days. Following this the air is turned
off, allowing the remaining solids to settle to the bottom. The clear water is decanted from
the top, and the solids withdrawn from the bottom.
Anaerobic digestion consists of mixing the waste sludge in a closed tank for a period of 15 to
30 days. Anaerobic bacteria present in the waste convert much of the waste materials to
carbon dioxide and methane gas during this period. This active digestion period is followed
by a settling period during which the solids settle to the bottom of the tank. The water is
then withdrawn from the top and the digested sludge solids from the bottom.

Fig 1: Treatment plant of sugar industry.

Characteristics of Effluents
The characteristics of individual and combined effluents vary from mill to mill and from time
to time. All the individual effluents excluding spray pond overflow are acidic and coloured
posters disagreeable older, high BOD and suspended solid. The oil and grease content is also
high. The characteristics of effluents of a typical sugar mill are given in the following table.

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

TABLE 1: General characteristics of sugar mill effluent

Sl.No Parameters Range
1 pH 6.5-8.8
2 Dissloved Oxygen 0-2.0
3 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 300-2,200
4 Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 1360-2,000
5 Chlorides 18-40
6 Total Solids (TS) 870-1950
7 Total dissolved Solids (TDS) 400-1650
8 Suspended Solids (SS) 220-790
9 Sulphate 40-70
10 Oil and Grease 60-100
All values except pH are expressed in mg/lit.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The effluent from sugar mill was collected in glass bottles from the inlet and outlet of
treatment plant. Immediately the samples were preserved by adding alkali azide and MnSO4
of 2ml each to fix the dissolve oxygen in the field. For the determination of other physico-
chemical characteristics, the effluent and influent were brought into the laboratory.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The analysed results were tabulated in Table No.02. The temperature plays a basic factor for
determining the quality of effluent its effect on certain biochemical reactions taking place in
aquatic condition for aquatic organisms (R Chandra et al., 2011). In the general
phenomenon of aquatic condition the temperature lies between the 200C - 270C, but the
effluent of sugar industry has 480C and 300C in untreated and treated respectively. The
increased temperature may accelerate the rate of chemical reaction and chemical changes
in the aquatic condition and adverse effect on the agricultural field and yield of the crop (AK
Beruch et al., 1993).
pH is one of the very important tool in the aquatic system and its a indicator for the
sustainability for the aquatic organisms. Alteration in the pH value of effluent can affect the
rate of biological and chemical reaction and survival of various microorganisms. The
presence or absence of various ionic special can have direct relation with pH of the effluent.
Subsequently the effluent can influence the quality of soil. In the present work the pH varies
from 4.8 in the raw effluent and 6.9 in the treated effluent. This increase in the pH of the
effluent is due to the addition of the lime during in the equalization tank. The Electrical
Conductivity also changes with alteration in the pH. The presence of high chemical

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

constituents the concentration of DO varied between 1.1mg/l to 3.6mg/l for untreated and
treated effluents respectively. The increased concentration of DO is due to the proper
aeration process during the treatment of effluents. Increased DO related to the BOD and
COD removal. Hence the amount of DO is inversely proportional to the amount of COD and
BOD load. Once the concentration of DO increased it directly affects on the concentration of
chemical composition of the effluents. This aeration technique was provided by fixed
aerators in the two tanks. During the removal of chemical constituents in the effluents,
microorganisms play a vital role. Hence these microbes will be provided some nutrients
during the effluent treatment process. Once the effluents passed from the aeration tank, it
moves towards the clarifier. In the clarifier, due to the centrifugal force created by scrapper
at the bottom of the clarifier, the denser particles moves towards the bottom of the
clarifier. The sludge collected at the bottom will be passed to the sludge drying bed. But
subsequently the removal of oil and grease is still require some of the important technique
due to insufficient removal of oil and grease content till today in the treated effluent.
Without removing the oil and grease in the wastewater it may cause serious water pollution
problems in the surrounding water bodies due to formation of oil layer on the surface. Once
the formation starts it negatively impact on the aquatic organisms and plants by
deteriorating the oxygen level. This oil layer prevents the entry of oxygen in to the interior
system of water bodies. Once DO deteriorate its results with anaerobic condition. For the
determination of the heavy metals, AAS was used by adding 2ml aquaregia to the effluent
sample.
Table 2: The Physico-chemical parameters of treated and untreated sugar mill effluent
Sl.No Parameter Untreated Treated BIS standards
1 Colour Dark Brown Light Brown -
2 Temperature 480C 300C -
3 pH 4.8 6.9 6.5-9.0
4 Dissolved Oxygen 1.10 3.6 4-6
5 BOD 98 76 50
6 COD 385 190 250
7 TDS 3120 1489 2100
8 TS 2150 1460 2700
9 TSS 96 68 600
10 Chlorides 178 140 600
11 Sulphate 580 310 1000
12 Oil and Grease 52 15 10
All values except pH and temperature are expressed in mg/lit.

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

Table 3: The concentration of Heavy Metals in the sugar mill effluents

Sl.No Heavy Metals Untreated Treated

(ppm) (ppm)
1 Cu 0.14 0.06
2 Cr 0.18 0.04
3 Cd 0.14 0.10
4 Zn 1.60 1.10
5 Ni 0.11 0.05
CONCLUSION
In the recent era great concern has been given throughout the universe regarding the
environmental pollution from so many aspects since of rapid industrialization and
subsequent urbanization. But as for the earlier concept of disposal of treated/untreated
wastewater from the industry, treated/untreated wastewater has been drained into the
rivers, nearby lakes or streams and by that river body it may spreading over a huge area till
that water reaches its final destination. Therefore, the polluted water directly or indirectly
affects the lives of flora and fauna which are situated nearby the water sources not only in
the industrial area but also in agricultural fields, river and river beds. However, effluents
containing various types of metallic and non-metallic elements act as nutrients but at the
higher concentration they may show toxic nature on seed germination and seedling growth,
ultimately adversely affecting plant growth and yield in agricultural field. Wastewater from
the sugar industry contains high concentrations of organic materials which are sometimes
discharged into the water sources which is surrounded to the industry. This study examined
the treated and untreated effluent characteristics. As per the CPCB direction every industry
should adopt the Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) programme in their industry premises to avoid
discharge of effluent without treatment/partial treatment. In the present study the influent
and effluents was analysed of a sugar industry and revealed that the pollutant concentration
was comparatively high and by adopting the Biological treatment process with Activated
Sludge Process (ASP) the treatment efficiency looks better treatment method for the
wastewater discharged by sugar industry. The removal percentage of BOD slightly low than
the BIS standards. At the mean time the treated effluents have the some shortage of
dissolved oxygen. It may be due to the presence of oil and grease even after the primary
treatment. Hence the oil and grease content should be removed for much better treatment

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 International Journal of Advanced Research in ISSN: 2278-6252
Engineering and Applied Sciences Impact Factor: 4.817

of the effluent. Inspite of that the analysed parameters of the treated effluent are well
within the prescribed by the CPCB for the discharge of effluent to on-land standards and
discharged wastewater could be used for the agriculture purposes or any domestic purposes
in the industry. The removal of heavy metals also a good indication of biological treatment
method. Effluents which are released from sugar industry should be thoroughly treated and
then it may be utilized for industrial processing again.

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